Empire Electric Association’s board of directors announced this week that Josh Dellinger, currently Empire’s system engineer, will become the cooperative’s new general manager on Jan. 1

“Josh Dellinger was our number one choice, and the vote was unanimous,” said Bill Bauer, Empire’s board president. “The board is confident that he has the qualities to carry out the difficult tasks that lie ahead. Josh has similar qualities to Neal Stephens and is going to be a great manager. The employees like him, and I’m sure that the members will also like him.”

Stephens is retiring after 35 years of service with Empire on Dec. 31.

Dellinger has 10 years of experience in the power industry. In his college years, he completed two internships with investor-owned utilities and worked for more than two years as an electric power analyst with the Department of Defense. The past seven years, Dellinger was the manager of technical services and engineering for Glacier Electric Cooperative in Montana.

“I think the board made an excellent choice selecting Josh as Empire’s next general manager. Josh exhibits those professional qualities that will enable him to grow into a great leader for the cooperative,” said retiring general manager Stephens.

“Empire Electric is a best-in-class cooperative,” said Dellinger. “The board of directors are knowledgable and committed to promoting cooperative values. The employees are professional and committed to fulfilling the cooperative’s mission with excellence. I consider it an honor and a privilege to lead such an organization.”

Dellinger and his wife, Kristen, have two daughters and a son. The family moved to Cortez in May 2014.